All eyes were on Lens to see how they would react following their chastening 9-1 defeat to Como in the UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately for the home supporters, they picked up where they left off, conceding inside 90 seconds.
The goal came from their own doing, too, as Jonathan Gradit’s pass back to Samson Baidoo was too far in front of his teammate, allowing Amine Gouiri to nip in and tap into an empty net.
Lens could have easily crumbled there, but they responded well, with Florian Thauvin heading over.
Midway through the half, they were back on level terms, and Thauvin was the hero against his former side, nodding Florian Sotoca’s cross home from close range.
Marseille threatened sporadically, as Gouiri flicked onto the crossbar from around six yards out, yet they were second best throughout the first period. They were fortunate to be level at the break, too, with Jeffrey de Lange needing a stunning save to deny Yacine Titraoui after Igor Paixao’s Gradit-inspired pass.
The hosts had the first attempt of the second period when Titraoui curled towards the bottom corner from the edge of the area, but De Lange was equal to it. At the other end, Paixao fired a shot well over the crossbar, but chances were subsequently at a premium at both ends.
Despite having the second-most shots in the league before this matchday, Marseille looked particularly toothless going forward until the final 10 minutes.
Substitute Keyliane Abdallah’s only goal of the campaign so far came on the opening day of the campaign, but he doubled his tally by firing home via a deflection from inside the area.
It was hardly their best performance, but Marseille did enough to register a sixth win in their last eight games in all competitions, including their last five in the French top flight.
Lens, meanwhile, had previously looked to be on the up after winning three of their past four Ligue 1 games, but two successive defeats, and the manner in which they lost the first, have put significant pressure on head coach Yannick Cahuzac.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jeffrey de Lange (Marseille)
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